AC Transit Puts Property Tax Plan On November Ballot

AC Transit will ask East Bay voters to approve a property tax measure on this November's general election ballot to pay for improvements to security and service on the bus system.

The tax of $8.50 per parcel requires a two-thirds vote from Contra Costa and Alameda County voters to pass. It would generate about $3 million each year for the cash-strapped bus agency. AC Transit directors voted Tuesday to place the tax on the ballot.

Revenue from the tax would go toward more transit police, an anti-graffiti campaign and increased reliability. It would also pay for monitors to ride routes frequented by school-aged passengers.

The improvements focus mainly on conditions for senior citizens and school-aged riders, who make up roughly one-third of AC Transit's 225,000 weekday riders.

Even if the measure is approved, AC Transit will not have access to the tax money until 1998. The measure would be in effect for six years from its date of passage and subject to voter renewal afterward.